<!DOCTYPE html>
<html>
<head>
<meta charset="UTF-8">
<title>above the will of the goddess by SaraJaye</title>
<style type="text/css">

body { background-color: #ffffff; }
.CI {
text-align:center;
margin-top:0px;
margin-bottom:0px;
padding:0px;
}
.center   {text-align: center;}
.cover    {text-align: center;}
.full     {width: 100%; }
.quarter  {width: 25%; }
.smcap    {font-variant: small-caps;}
.u        {text-decoration: underline;}
.bold     {font-weight: bold;}
</style>
</head>
<body>
<h1><a href="https://archiveofourown.org/works/28573389">above the will of the goddess</a> by <a class='authorlink' href='https://archiveofourown.org/users/SaraJaye/pseuds/SaraJaye'>SaraJaye</a></h1>

<table class="full">

<tr><td><b>Series:</b></td><td>Shadowed Prisms: The Cindered Shadows AUs [6]</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Category:</b></td><td>Fire Emblem: Fuukasetsugetsu | Fire Emblem: Three Houses</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Genre:</b></td><td>Angst and Hurt/Comfort, Angst with a Happy Ending, CSAU2, Class Issues, Flu Epidemic, Garreg Mach Politics, Gods and Clods system, Illnesses, Implied/Referenced Character Death, M/M, References to Prostitution</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Language:</b></td><td>English</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Status:</b></td><td>Completed</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Published:</b></td><td>2021-01-05</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Updated:</b></td><td>2021-01-05</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Packaged:</b></td><td>2021-05-13 04:28:51</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Rating:</b></td><td>Teen And Up Audiences</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Warnings:</b></td><td>No Archive Warnings Apply</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Chapters:</b></td><td>1</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Words:</b></td><td>1,445</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Publisher:</b></td><td>archiveofourown.org</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Story URL:</b></td><td>https://archiveofourown.org/works/28573389</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Author URL:</b></td><td>https://archiveofourown.org/users/SaraJaye/pseuds/SaraJaye</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Summary:</b></td><td><div class="userstuff">
              <p>"It's not like the Church hasn't thought us a <i>necessary nuisance</i> for over a decade now," Yuri says with a shrug. "They let us exist underground just so they can gripe about how those <i>Abyssian idiots</i> make things difficult for them, how they wish they could purge us, but they never do because they need us to make themselves look better."</p><p>A flu epidemic is slowly killing the Abyssians, and the Church sees nothing wrong with this.</p>
            </div></td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Relationships:</b></td><td>Ashe Duran | Ashe Ubert/Yuris Leclair | Yuri Leclerc</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Series:</b></td><td>Shadowed Prisms: The Cindered Shadows AUs [6]</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Series URL:</b></td><td>https://archiveofourown.org/series/1835785</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Comments:</b></td><td>1</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Kudos:</b></td><td>16</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Collections:</b></td><td>Hurt/Comfort Bingo - Round 11</td></tr>

</table>

<a name="section0001"><h2>above the will of the goddess</h2></a>
<div class="story"><div class="userstuff module">
    
    <p>When the flu epidemic hit the surface, Lady Rhea spared no time and expense in curing the population of Garreg Mach, even going to the commoners in person to heal them. Weeks later, the Abyss is still under quarantine as more and more people catch and succumb to the sickness.</p><p>"That's just how it is, Yuri-bird. They don't care about us, Lady Rhea and her cronies only want to look good to those who matter," Hapi says, but even she's upset about this whole thing. Constance has lost nights of sleep trying to find a cure that can reach the underground without risking her health, and Balthus is mad because he can't punch his way out of this.</p><p>Yuri's glad they're up here with him, though, flaws and all. It's bad enough that so many of his people died, and his mother's getting worse and worse every day according to her letters. <i>But don't worry about me, my son, you have your many friends and that nice young man to take care of you now.</i></p><p>It's Ashe who breaks the silence at last. Oh, others have griped about this behind Lady Rhea's back, and he knows Lady Edelgard is putting this on her list of Things The Church Must Be Put Down For. Sir Jeralt's pissed, but Yuri overheard him telling Professor Byleth not to do anything crazy and compromise his position, <i>I know you like being here with the students.</i></p><p>"Why can't you send medicine and healers down to the Abyss?" he hears Ashe asking Lady Rhea; he sneaks over to the audience chamber and peeks around the entrance. "I know it's risky, but the people down there are suffering, dying...please, can't you help them?"</p><p>"I understand your concerns, Ashe," Lady Rhea says, "but it's much too dangerous to send our healers down to where the disease is still thick. And we cannot afford to part with too many of our medicines, it's much too soon after healing Garreg Mach."</p><p>"But I could make more! I know about plants and herbs, and I could even make immunization potions for the healers!" Ashe pleads. Lady Rhea shakes her head slowly.</p><p>"I am sorry. But there is simply nothing to be done about it. This is the will of the goddess, and we must pray for the souls of the departed as they leave this plane of existence to meet her." Yuri clenches a fist, and he sees Ashe's shoulders go tense as well.</p><p>"That's..." Ashe shakes his head. "Fine, then. Sorry I wasted your time, Lady Rhea." Yuri quickly makes himself scarce, rushing towards the stairwell, not wanting either Lady Rhea or Ashe to know he'd been eavesdropping. He plunks down under the staircase, fist still clenched, eyes stinging.</p><p>His people are dying, and Lady Rhea is willing to let them.</p><p>Yuri's never been under any illusions of Lady Rhea being the perfect saint the way some of her knights are, but he's never had any reason to think her a bad person. During the time he worked for her as a spy during the whole Aelfric business, she was nothing but kind to him. Never stingy with the thank-yous, personally apologizing to him when she discovered how Aelfric blackmailed him, welcoming him back to the Officer's Academy when he rejoined the Blue Lions.</p><p>He knew she could be distant at times, but he never dreamed she could outright say the sick were <i>meant</i> to die.</p><p>"Yuri?" His head snaps up, Ashe is joining him under the staircase. "I thought I might find you here. I heard your footsteps." Yuri forces a laugh.</p><p>"Right, I forgot you got into the thieving game for a bit yourself."</p><p>"I'm sorry," Ashe sighs. "I tried, I really did, but...well, I guess I shouldn't be surprised. But I really hoped she would listen this time." That's the thing about Ashe. Even when he knows he could be fighting a losing battle, he still <i>hopes</i> justice and kindness will triumph.</p><p>"It's not like the Church hasn't thought us a <i>necessary nuisance</i> for over a decade now," Yuri says with a shrug. "They let us exist underground just so they can gripe about how those <i>Abyssian idiots</i> make things difficult for them, how they wish they could purge us, but they never do because they need us to make themselves look better." Ashe frowns.</p><p>"Well, it's not fair. None of you did anything wrong, and no one deserves to die of the flu no matter who they are!" he protests, then sighs. "But...I guess it was foolish to ask Lady Rhea for any favors, after the way she treated Lonato. I just thought maybe..."</p><p>"That maybe because none of the sick people dared to stand up to her she'd take pity on them and let them live?"</p><p>"I guess." Ashe's shoulders slump as he takes Yuri's hand. "I'm sorry, Yuri. I know how rough this has been on you, I just wanted to help." Yuri smiles sadly.</p><p>"I know. And in a perfect world your innocent face and soft idealism would be enough to cure my people without medicine. But this is the world we live in. Poor people exist just to make the middle-class and the rich feel better about themselves and do their dirty work. A place for everyone, everyone in their place, and everyone's happy just the way they are." He snorts. "Goddesses and clods, my mother called it when we were still living on the streets. The reason someone like her could only get a job as a whore and once she'd done it, she was too <i>dirty</i> to find something <i>proper.</i>"</p><p>"It's a stupid system," Ashe mutters, squeezing his hand tighter. "Lonato always thought so. He never said it but I could tell he looked down on the nobles who wouldn't lift a finger to help the poor." At least that was something Count Rowe was willing to do, even if all he wanted was to mold Yuri to his expectations. If even that. <i>If he really wanted to do good he'd have taken in my mother, too.</i></p><p>"Lonato was one of a kind."</p><p>"If he were still here, I bet he'd find a way to get medicine down to the Abyss." Yuri shakes his head.</p><p>"He was a good guy, but he wasn't magic. My people are just gonna keep suffering and dying, the Abyss will be empty, then they'll send all the poor from up here down there to keep the system running."</p><p>"No." Ashe shakes his head firmly. "No, I won't let that happen! I'm going to find a way to cure your people, Yuri, on my honor as a half-knight!" And in spite of everything Yuri's heart melts, and he smiles. It's hard not to when Ashe is so earnest and adorable and he wants to believe every word he says.</p><p>"Just don't let Lady Rhea catch you doing something nice for them or she'll scold you."</p><p>"She won't." Ashe embraces him, and Yuri leans into it, feeling some of the tension of the last few weeks leave him. "It's going to be okay, Yuri."</p><p>Yuri believes him.</p><p> </p><p>A week later, the quarantine is lifted from the Abyss.</p><p>"It's the craziest thing. Apparently this huge shipment of medicine dropped down there one day, over night even," Hapi says. "Didn't say who it was from, either, but it sure did the trick." <i>Ashe.</i> How did he even pull it off? How did he get this past Lady Rhea and the Church?</p><p>Yuri makes his rounds, checking up on his mother first. She's still in bed, but she looks more alive than she sounded in her last letter. Everyone's on the mend, even the elderly.</p><p>"The Goddess must have heard our pleas," a man says. When Yuri goes back to the surface for class, he finds a smiling Ashe waiting for him. He hugs Ashe tightly, eliciting a surprised squeak from him.</p><p>"How did you do this?"</p><p>"I didn't," he says. "I guess someone else was just as sick of the Goddesses and Clods system as we are." Yuri doesn't let go, and Ashe leans into him. "I dunno who it was, but I hope we find out soon so I can thank them."</p><p>"That makes two of us," Yuri murmurs. "But still, you were there for me when I needed a shoulder. So thanks for that."</p><p>"We're old friends," Ashe says. "I could never be any less for you."</p><p>Neither of them notice the relieved, satisfied young woman slipping back into the Black Eagles classroom.</p><p> </p><p>
  <i>You and the Church have killed enough people already, Lady Rhea. But not this time.</i>
</p>
  </div></div>
</body>
</html>